The chat will start when you send the first message.
1This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to Samaria and Jerusalem.[#tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”; #tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.; #tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).; #tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”; #map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.; #map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.]
2Listen, all you nations![#tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”]
Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth!
The sovereign Lord will testify against you;
the Lord will accuse you from his majestic palace.
3Look, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place![#tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).]
He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops!
4The mountains will disintegrate beneath him,[#tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).]
and the valleys will be split in two.
The mountains will melt like wax in a fire,
the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope.
5All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and the sins of the nation of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask?
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion!
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask?
They are right in Jerusalem!
6“I will turn Samaria into a heap of ruins in an open field –[#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.]
vineyards will be planted there!
I will tumble the rubble of her stone walls down into the valley,
and tear down her fortifications to their foundations.
7All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;
all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire.
I will make a waste heap of all her images.
Since she gathered the metal as a prostitute collects her wages,
the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.”
8For this reason I will mourn and wail;[#tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.]
I will walk around barefoot and without my outer garments.
I will howl like a wild dog,
and screech like an owl.
9For Samaria’s disease is incurable.[#tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.; #tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.tn Or “wound.”]
It has infected Judah;
it has spread to the leadership of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem!
10Don’t spread the news in Gath![#tn Heb “Tell it not in Gath.” The Hebrew word for “tell” (נָגַד, nagad) sounds like the name of the city, Gath (גַּת, gat).]
Don’t shed even a single tear!
In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust!
11Residents of Shaphir, pass by in nakedness and humiliation![#tn The Hebrew participial form, which is feminine singular, is here used in a collective sense for the all the residents of the town. See GKC 394 §122.s.; #sn The place name Shaphir means “pleasant” in Hebrew.; #tn The imperatival form is used rhetorically, emphasizing that the inhabitants of Shaphir will pass by into exile.]
The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city.
Beth Ezel mourns,
“He takes from you what he desires.”
12Indeed, the residents of Maroth hope for something good to happen,[#sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”; #tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).tn Heb “[the residents of Maroth] writhe [= “anxiously long for”?] good.”]
though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem.
13Residents of Lachish, hitch the horses to the chariots![#sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”]
You influenced Daughter Zion to sin,
for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back to you!
14Therefore you will have to say farewell to Moresheth Gath.[#tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.; #tn Heb “you will give a dowry to”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “give parting gifts to.” Lachish is compared to a father who presents wedding gifts to his daughter as she leaves her father’s home to take up residence with her husband. In similar fashion Lachish will bid farewell to Moresheth Gath, for the latter will be taken by the invader.]
The residents of Achzib will be as disappointing
as a dried up well to the kings of Israel.
15Residents of Mareshah, a conqueror will attack you,[#sn The place name Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror.”; #tn Heb “Again a conqueror I will bring to you, residents of Mareshah.” The first person verb is problematic, for the Lord would have to be the subject (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). But the prophet appears to be delivering this lament and the Lord is referred to in the third person in v. 12. Consequently many emend the verb to a third person form (יָבוֹא, yavo’) and understand the “conqueror” as subject.]
the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam.
16Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love;[#tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”]
shave your foreheads as bald as an eagle,
for they are taken from you into exile.